CL&P will construct two circuits under the street, operating at 115-kilovolts (kV) between the Glenbrook Substation in Stamford and the Norwalk Substation. We are using solid core cables, which contain no fluid, and these would be installed primarily under streets for a distance of 8.7 miles.

The Glenbrook Cables Project is designed to meet the continuing growth in customer electric usage in southwestern Fairfield County. The project will provide new direct transmission connections from CL&P's new transmission facilities in Norwalk to Stamford. These new transmission facilities will enable CL&P to meet national reliability standards, which help to ensure a more secure regional transmission grid.

The route would extend 8.7 miles east from CL&P's substation on Hamilton Avenue in Stamford. The line would be installed along Hamilton Avenue and Brookside Drive before crossing the Noroton River into Darien. In Darien, the route would continue north and then east along an access road behind a Connecticut Department of Transportation service area for I-95 and an access road between the Noroton Heights railroad station and I-95. The route would continue northeast along Ledge Road before joining U.S. Route 1 (Boston Post Road) and proceed northeast through Darien and Norwalk. In Norwalk, the route would continue northeast along U.S. Route 1 (Connecticut Avenue and then Van Buren Avenue), before continuing north along Riverside Avenue. From Riverside Avenue, the route would cross beneath the Norwalk River, into CL&P's substation on New Canaan Avenue.

Yes. See Construction Updates page. We will coordinate with state and local police, fire and emergency responders, the Connecticut Department of Transportation and town officials to provide for emergency routes and minimize impacts on traffic. In most commercial areas and on Connecticut Department of Transportation roadways, CL&P intends to perform construction at night to minimize impacts on traffic. Where we are not able to close or fill trenches before work ends for a shift each morning, it may be possible to install steel plates to cover the openings, allowing traffic to move freely over the work area.

The work will include installation of conduits, or ducts, which will house the cables under the street. Once the ducts are installed, the cables will be pulled through to underground splicing vaults which are spaced at about three per mile. Each splice is expected to take between one and two days to complete.

CL&P has pursued a number of solutions that include:

• Installation of new technology at substations
• Aggressive conservation efforts that balance demand with sufficient supplies.
• Emergency generators
• Replacement of overhead lines on existing structures

The cables will be installed primarily under public streets. The company might have a temporary need for land to store construction materials or for parking equipment. But these areas would be restored to their original condition once the work is completed. The company may also need to install some facilities to the side of the streets, which may require a permanent need for the land, but we are trying to minimize this need.

The project will have little or no impact on property values during construction and no impact once the work is complete.

Construction will be conducted in three parts;

1. Excavate for and install splicing vaults approximately every 1,800 feet.
2. Excavate a trench approximately seven feet deep and ten feet wide at the top to install plastic ducts that will house the cables.
3. Install the cables in the ducts and splice the cable lengths together.

CL&P plans to provide information to local businesses and business organizations regarding the path and schedule for the work. This could include weekly conference calls or site meetings.

The cost of the project will be approximately $223 million and is expected to be shared, or socialized, among all New England customers.

Customer demand for electricity continues to grow faster in the Stamford/Norwalk area than any other area of the state. The proposed Glenbrook Cables project will meet this growing demand by taking advantage of the benefits of the 345-kV loop, which will merge in Norwalk.

This project provides additional transmission capacity to move power from Norwalk to Stamford while improving the area's connection to modern generation plants elsewhere in the region.

The consequences of doing nothing include:

• Diminished reliability of service in the Stamford/Norwalk area,
• Moving closer to a point where demand for electricity exceeds supply,
• Increasing emergency appeals for conversation during peak use periods,
• Increasing the possibility of blackouts in the area.

In general, CL&P considers a balanced approach toward system alternatives that includes conservation, load management, reliable generation, and adequate transmission.

It is technically possible to address this need in a limited way with new, local generation. Yet, due to air quality issues during the summer months, operation of the generation could be limited at a time of the year when it is most needed. Also, there have not been sufficient new generation plants proposed to satisfy the need in the Stamford area. Further, it appears the remaining opportunities for C&LM (conservation and load management) will not sufficiently reduce the area's growing need for electricity.

The Bethel/Norwalk and Middletown/Norwalk projects will extend New England's 345-kV transmission system into southwest Connecticut. They will merge at our Norwalk substation to complete a loop. This loop increases the capability to transfer power deep into southwest Connecticut, creating a strong source of power at Norwalk, solving most of the region's serious reliability concerns.

This project extends the benefits of the strong source of electricity in Norwalk to Stamford. It provides more capacity to move power reliably to Stamford and the surrounding municipalities.

Yes, magnetic field levels directly above the cables in the street will increase from the current levels, yet these levels will remain within the range of magnetic fields often found in streets. These levels will decrease rapidly toward the sides of the streets. At distances of 50 to 75 feet, the magnetic field levels will be similar to levels found in an average home.

Electric fields in the area will not increase.

The flow of power on the nearest New York transmission lines is predominantly directed toward New York City. Transmission lines connecting the Greenwich area to Westchester County, New York would be connecting to a weak point in the New York grid. Such a connection could be expected to move more power from southwest Connecticut into the New York City area, further aggravating the existing reliability problems in southwest Connecticut.

Segment 1 and 2 (the underground power line) of our application was approved by the Connecticut Siting Council in September 2006. The Siting Council is expected to reach a desision on the Glenbrook and Norwalk Substations in November 2006. Construction began in October 2006 and the completed lines will go into service in September 2008.

Underground lines typically cost more, but can more easily be routed through highly developed urban areas, ideally within tunnels beneath city streets. But a disadvantage to underground installations is that their construction requirements, unlike an overhead line, necessitate access to every foot of the route, increasing construction impacts on roadways, traffic, wetlands, and wildlife habitats.

Electric power system engineers recognize that when it comes to working with higher transmission voltages, underground lines have important differences from overhead lines. For instance, because the heat created by resistive losses moves more slowly away from underground cables, underground transmission lines commonly require more or bigger conductors to deliver the same amount of power. Because of the thick insulation around underground cables, installed cable lengths are shorter and many more splices (made in large underground vaults) are necessary. While a failure may happen less frequently on an underground line, when it does its location and repair typically take a couple of weeks to complete, during which time the remaining transmission system must operate reliably without the cable. Also, the substations at the ends of an underground cable will often need to have large shunt reactors installed to compensate for the high charging currents associated with these cables.

Rights of way sometimes need to be expanded along sections of a transmission route and it is not always possible to avoid having an impact on some people living near the corridor. When balancing the electric needs of many with property issues, it is not possible to avoid all abutting homes.

Two key philosophies guide CL&P in routing the 345-kV power lines:

1. The routes should cause the least amount of disturbance to people and the environment, which includes minimizing the number of homes in the corridor
2. Property owners should be fairly compensated for any land that must be acquired.

On sections of the right of way where the width needs to be expanded, CL&P will pursue a plan that intrudes least of all on abutting property owners and environmentally sensitive areas.

In acquiring property rights from private owners, CL&P pays the Fair Market Value of the necessary rights. Fair Market Value is typically determined by retaining local independent real estate appraisers to estimate the value of the applicable property rights.

CL&P will make a good faith offer representing the Fair Market Value of the property rights sought. The focus and energy of CL&P's negotiations will be to reach a mutually acceptable real estate transaction with the property owner.

CL&P will use a type of power cable that has solid electric insulation and contains no fluid (cross-linked polyethylene or "XLPE" cable). Three sets of three conduits (or ducts) would be installed underground, within or adjacent to roads along the route. This would involve the excavation of a trench approximately 7 feet deep, with an approximate width of 4 feet. The 115-kV cables would be installed in two of the duct sets. The third set of ducts are for future potential uses such as upgrading the service between Glenbrook and Norwalk to 345-kV. Installing this third set of ducts now would eliminate much of the need for additional excavation if 345-kV service is needed in the future.

At approximately 1,800-foot intervals along the cable route, three concrete splice vaults (one for each line and a spare) would be installed below ground for cable pulling and splicing. Each splice vault would be approximately 7 feet wide, 8 feet high and 30 feet long. To install each concrete splice vault, an excavation area approximately 12 feet wide, 13 feet deep and 35 feet long would be required.